That Stinkin' Armadillo

A while back I posted this post about armadillos being able to jump three feet in the air.  It was really a lead in to this post which I kept neglecting to write.  So here's my armadillo story (although it has nothing to do with armadillos being able to jump three feet in the air).

Greg and I live in a mobile home on the same property as a yellow house that is for sale.  I was mowing around the house one day when I spotted something in the window well.  Yuck!  It was a dead armadillo!  So... I became the armadillo removal crew.  (I figured I would take the job instead of Greg since I don't have a sense of smell and I figured the dead animal stank.)

So I poked it, found it stiff as a board, and then used my ever-handy farm pliers to pick it up by the tail [omit description of maggots and bones] and deposit it in a bag. 

 Then the bag went in the trash can to be picked up by the garbage man.  (Like the pic below, except it was in the trash can.)

Then the next day, I walked outside (dressed all cute to go downtown) and saw a piece of trash floating through our front yard.  WHAT???  I checked around the back of the house.  Yep, the trash can had been tipped over and the bags of trash chewed open and strewn across the yard.  Apparently, the armadillo was attracting attention.

The Culprit.  The neighbor dog who likes to jump his fence.

I cleaned up the trash and went to town.  Wait. That sounds too simple. I changed clothes and then picked up the pieces of trash bit by bit and put them in a new trash bag which I painstakingly double-bagged and returned to the trash can.  I also moved the armadillo from inside the trashcan to outside the trashcan (see pic above).  That way the dog could nose at the stinky armadillo without upsetting the entire trash can.  Then I went to town.

I came back from town with our groceries and noticed a piece of trash floating through our front yard.  OH, NO!!!!  Oh, yes...  This time Mr. Amazing was busy picking up all the trash that was once again strewn across the yard. I staked out the neighbors house until they got home.  Then I introduced myself, presented them with fresh baked cookies, and let them know their dog was getting out.

The next day, he knocked over our trash can again (sigh).  We moved our trash can into the garage. The day after that, we saw him shredding trash from his own trash can.  The day after that,  the fence was fixed.

The day after that, our trashman Mike brought us a new trashcan. This one has a lid!  I wanted to snap a picture of our trashman and the new trash can for my blog.  But I forgot. :(  I'll learn.

Oh - and was the dog after the armadillo?  No, I think he was just after mischief. He left the bag with the armadillo completely alone! Silly dog!